Telsa Roadster Sport Interior - Boulder, Colorado Dealership

Telsa Roadster Sport Interior - Boulder, Colorado Dealership

Today marked our visit to the Tesla Motors showroom in Boulder, Colorado with the Rocky Mountain Auto Press. For the average college student getting near a Tesla is probably not a likely proposition…unless you are really well connected. Speaking from a 25 year old motor head, sports car loving, speed freak point of view, the Tesla has to be one of the most intriguing sports cars on the market. Why? One word—electric.

Bruce Richter drives the 2010 Tesla Roadster Sport

Bruce Richter drives the 2010 Tesla Roadster Sport

Tesla Roadster Sport at Boulder, Colorado Dealership

Tesla Roadster Sport at Boulder, Colorado Dealership

The Tesla Roadster Sport embodies what college students go to school for…no not the kegs and all night parties. It embodies the future and education of alternatives. We attend college to broaden our view and absorb information otherwise not available. That is what the Tesla Motors group is also trying to achieve. As Zak Edson, Director Product Planning, said today at the Boulder showroom, “The founders wanted a car that people weren’t guilty to drive. A car that they could really feel good about enjoying.” Who wouldn’t enjoy 0-60 in 3.7 seconds and super car like handling?

Now we understand that to enjoy this guilt free pleasure you have to have somewhere near 130K (for the sport at least). However, as Ricardo Reyes, VP Communications said, “Starting with a sports car makes a lot of sense. We can translate all of the things we have learned from the high performance car to other models like the coming S sedan.” So basically we can surmise that by asking people to buy into a new all-electric sports car. at an exclusive $100K+ price tag before government incentives, that Tesla is creating a payoff for the original R&D on the battery technology and roadster design. This then will allow them to have a jumping off point to create other automotive solutions like the S sedan and as mentioned today maybe even an all-wheel drive version…maybe. The hope being that the price of future products could be more attainable to the average consumer.

Telsa is also actively talking to Universities to talk to future graduates. It is important to the company to share the Tesla Motors concept and vision of cars for the future. The company doesn’t just make the Roadster Sport, according to Edson they also have deals with other companies to supply their battery technology for other electric vehicle (EV) applications. Reyes also mentioned their recent announcement with Panasonic to work together in developing batteries purpose built for EVs.

No matter how you look at it, Tesla Motors and the Roadster have earned a spot in the automotive history books and probably the environmental ones too. The question now, is can the price on EVs come down to where a college student could afford to purchase one and drive to and from campus after charging up at the school dormitory?

 

Stay tuned for more news, reviews and automotive intrigue from CollegeCarGuide.com.